MANCHESTER — Drivers rolling through the Queen City may have noticed that arrows painted on pavement at intersections to indicate a travel lane designated ‘left or right turn only’, have faded in recent months, leaving some barely visible.

But budget cuts are not to blame, public works officials say. A lack of equipment is.

“Our striping truck has been down for repair and was only recently put back in service,” said Manchester Public Works Director Kevin Sheppard. “Subject to weather, our hope is to catch up on some of the striping throughout the city in the coming weeks.”

1,100 crosswalks

According to Sheppard, there are 1,100 crosswalks in Manchester, and 1,500 directional arrows painted on city streets. There are 1,800,000 linear feet of straight painted lines in total — all of which need a fresh coat to stand out to drivers. Now that the city’s striping truck has been repaired (it was out of commission for several months), commuters should start to see newly painted lines in the coming weeks.

“Our priority for striping is crosswalks and straight lines first, and then the directional arrows,” said Sheppard. “The arrows are painted on an as-needed basis, subject to weather and completion of crosswalks and straight line painting.”

A work schedule has not been decided upon.

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